Lawsuit Seeks to End 'Happy Birthday' Song Copyright

Besides being Friday, today is even more special as America honors Flag Day and the 238th birthday of the U.S. Army! However, a federal court in New York City isn't putting on party hats just yet. Good Morning to You Productions Corp., a documentary film company, filed a lawsuit in Manhattan yesterday for $50 million, seeking to have "Happy Birthday to You" placed in the public domain. Warner/Chappell Music owns the copyright to the 120-year-old tune, which means anyone wanting to record or perform it must pay the company and sign a licensing agreement. The company's owner, filmmaker Jennifer Nelson, entered into the agreement after producing a documentary about the song. Now, she's decided it's time to blow out the candles on the music establishment's copyright.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Her company paid $1,500 after filming a performance of the birthday jingle in a scene. If the company hadn't ponied up, they would've been charged a $150,000 penalty. "Before I began my filmmaking career, I never thought the song was owned by anyone," Nelson said. "I thought it belonged to everyone." According to the court papers, Warner/Chappell improperly claims it owns the copyright to the song and "either has silenced those wishing to record or perform 'Happy Birthday to You' or has extracted millions of dollars in licensing fees from those unwilling or unable to challenge its ownership claims." The papers further state that if a copyright ever existed, evidence shows it would've expired in 1921.

More From Woman's Day

Not only does the class action lawsuit push for the tune to be freely available to the public but also to have the music company return the millions it has collected from agreements over the years. Robert Brauneis, a law professor at George Washington University, said, "If the plaintiffs are successful, the lawsuit could provide a model for how to challenge copyright in a song or other copyrighted work." He states that individual artists or performers typically don't have enough money to bring about a lawsuit of this price and size. In this case, though, Nelson's company is large and wealthy enough to stand a chance against the patent holders. Warner/Chappell has yet to comment on the ordeal.

Do you believe "Happy Birthday to You" should be freely available in the public? Share your thoughts in the comments below.